Drivers - has the promise of extra distance ever been true?

[Deleted member 18121]

I've been playing quite well last year or so. In 2019 I bought a ping g410 plus driver as in tests at the time it kept coming out as one of the most forgiving and straightest drivers ever..... Which seems to have been true.

Have you ever found a driver that did magically add 15+ yards? Or is it just marketing mumbo jumbo?

 

[Foxholer]

Only when upgading from my 'starter set' one to a proper Driver (Killer Whale). Every other purchase has been slight/marginal, though all seemed to be improvements.

 

[Orikoru]

I think the only way to make big gains in distance like that is:
a) you're upgrading from a 15 year old driver to a new one.
b) you're upgrading from a driver that was the wrong shaft, wrong loft etc to a fitted new one.

If you're just going from a 3-4 year old driver to the latest one you're not going to see massive gains, maybe 4 or 5 yards at best.

 

[Deleted member 18121]

I think the only way to make big gains in distance like that is:
a) you're upgrading from a 15 year old driver to a new one.
b) you're upgrading from a driver that was the wrong shaft, wrong loft etc to a fitted new one.

If you're just going from a 3-4 year old driver to the latest one you're not going to see massive gains, maybe 4 or 5 yards at best.

I'm actually thinking of going older than current driver... Just as an experiment, I'm not interested in spending £4-£500 on a big stick.

I guess I need to test somehow, IE would a sub zero/low spin version suit me better.

I'm not short by any means, just greedy.

 

[Orikoru]

I'm actually thinking of going older than current driver... Just as an experiment, I'm not interested in spending £4-£500 on a big stick.

I guess I need to test somehow, IE would a sub zero/low spin version suit me better.

I'm not short by any means, just greedy.

I think I'm the opposite. My swing is only around 85mph so I know I'll never be hitting big drives unless I try and get the speed up somehow! I've gone for Ping the last two drivers as I hit them the straightest, mainly.

 

[spongebob59]

I've been playing quite well last year or so. In 2019 I bought a ping g410 plus driver as in tests at the time it kept coming out as one of the most forgiving and straightest drivers ever..... Which seems to have been true.

Have you ever found a driver that did magically add 15+ yards? Or is it just marketing mumbo jumbo?

Was it fitted ?
Might be a magical shaft out there for you

 

[Deleted member 18121]

Was it fitted ?
Might be a magical shaft out there for you

No it wasn't, I was falling out of love with the game and bought a new driver off the shelf to reignite the passion and went with the most forgiving on the market.

 

[IanM]

Absolutely true. I had the wrong sort of shaft in my last driver, much better with the new one! Only buy something if you know the spec if right, regardless of price!

 

[Deleted member 18121]

Absolutely true. I had the wrong sort of shaft in my last driver, much better with the new one! Only buy something if you know the spec if right, regardless of price!

I currently have the standard 55 gram stiff shaft in it. I did do a range session with a 45 gram stiff as a trial but it gave virtually identical numbers with as good accuracy.

 

[IanM]

I currently have the standard 55 gram stiff shaft in it. I did do a range session with a 45 gram stiff as a trial but it gave virtually identical numbers with as good accuracy.

I way playing with a low spin, low launch shaft that I wasn't getting enough launch on. But, I once had a range session with 3 versions of the same shaft and couldn't tell the difference!

 

[Deleted member 18121]

I way playing with a low spin, low launch shaft that I wasn't getting enough launch on. But, I once had a range session with 3 versions of the same shaft and couldn't tell the difference!

They all performed pretty much the same?

 

[williamalex1]

The old Cobra SZ 460 with the trampoline face added well over 30 yards for some.
That's why it was made non conforming/banned .

 

[jim8flog]

I switched from TaylorMade R9 to M4 similar shaft and saw a gain of about 15 yards.

I tried the Sim driver and resold it after just 2 rounds because I saw no gain and in fact felt some slight loss.

Often it is more about finding the right shaft , something which is easy to do with modern drivers.

The shaft in the M4 was totally unsuited to my swing so just changed it to something to suit.

 

[Deleted member 18121]

I switched from TaylorMade R9 to M4 similar shaft and saw a gain of about 15 yards.

I tried the Sim driver and resold it after just 2 rounds because I saw no gain and in fact felt some slight loss.

Often it is more about finding the right shaft , something which is easy to do with modern drivers.

The shaft in the M4 was totally unsuited to my swing so just changed it to something to suit.

What was it about the shaft that changed? Weight/flex/spin characteristics?

I've only ever used light shafts, I'm not sure if to try something heavier. This is where getting retro fit on older equipment is difficult.... It's s sector of the market I think we all miss out on.

 

[Foxholer]

What was it about the shaft that changed? Weight/flex/spin characteristics?

I've only ever used light shafts, I'm not sure if to try something heavier. This is where getting retro fit on older equipment is difficult.... It's s sector of the market I think we all miss out on.

Only reason I could see getting retro-fitted into older equipment is to check suitability of shaft. While examples of old equipment stand out as particularly good for their time, heads have generally improved, albeit mainly on adjustability as opposed to speed off the face which is actually limited.
If you've only ever used light shafts, I'd suspect that you are 'stuck' with continuing that, as the dynamics of your swing have been ingrained to that of a light shaft. Worth having a try of a heavier one though, just in case that's not the case and your body is better matched to a heavier one.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

I think with my new custom-fitted driver (G425 Max) I lost distance. However the overall changes I am in the process of making to my stance, address and swing path are starting to provide me with what I and my pro are looking for in my game. As a result I think I am back to where I was with my old driver - but with more carry and with the possibility of increasing distance. Though any increase I get will, I think, be more down to the changes I am making in address and how I hit the ball, than the new driver - though clearly as it was custom-fitted the hardware won't be a limiting factor and indeed will probably support better and probably longer driving.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I've been using a Ping G driver at the range and a Ping G410 on the course (my new clubs being in my locker). Hard to tell as the range didn't have Toptracer or anything to measure with but to my eye there was a hint of extra distance. I am not sure there will ever be more than a few yards either way. I've not really found too much over the years that has gained me loads of distance and I have never bought into this extra distance marketing

 

[The Fader]

I think the only way to make big gains in distance like that is:
a) you're upgrading from a 15 year old driver to a new one.
b) you're upgrading from a driver that was the wrong shaft, wrong loft etc to a fitted new one.

If you're just going from a 3-4 year old driver to the latest one you're not going to see massive gains, maybe 4 or 5 yards at best.

a) and b) Is the correct answer.

Driver technology in terms of pure distance topped out many years ago.

Recent driver technology is 90% about forgiveness and minimising loss of distance on off centre hits. And the other 10% is marketing mumbo jumbo based around how the elite 0.001% of golfers make out with the gear. Who are paid handsomely to use it!! If any driver was even marginally better than any other, it would be in the bag of every pro in the game regardless of manufacturer sponsorship and affilliation.

Finding a driver head and shaft combination that fits your swing is the holy grail. Once you find it - I don't see any technology coming down the line in either head or shaft development that is going to give you £500 worth of benefit.

Go to the gym, exercise, get fitter and stronger and if that translates to increased swing speed - bingo! That's where any extra distance comes from. And if you combine that with improved technique through practice and lessons - double bingo!

There are too many golfers willing to go down the route of buying "better" equipment as the solution and that's why the top brands get away with quite frankly crazy prices.

 

[jim8flog]

What was it about the shaft that changed? Weight/flex/spin characteristics?

I've only ever used light shafts, I'm not sure if to try something heavier. This is where getting retro fit on older equipment is difficult.... It's s sector of the market I think we all miss out on.

The shaft it came with (Bassara about 45gramme from memory) was too light for me with too low kick point resulting in very high shots that lacked distance.

I have tried several different shafts in the M4 head but keep going back to a medium weight with a medium to high kick point, Fujikura Pro 60. I had the Motore 65 in the R9 and an Aldila NVS 65 for a while in both heads.

It is always worth checking out as much as possible before deciding which shafts to try. I use things like this

https://www.fujikuragolf.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/3VERB-0257-FJK-catalog-update-v1.8-PAGES.pdf

 

[Backsticks]

Without doubt it has. At least twice. The move from hickory shafts was no contest when they came in, allowing people to really put more club head speed behind the ball. I am uncertain but dont thing the move to steel metal woods in the late 80s made much difference with a good persimmon of the era, but the move to big heads with the Big Bertha did unlock more difference for all. The melting pot of all drivers now coinciding on the 460cc with pretty much identical design moved it on another notch. But that last change was 20 years ago, so it seems to go in distinct step changes, and there is no gradual evolution as such. Carbon seems to be no more effective an improvement than a different paint colour. Its possible that we have reached the end of the line completely I think. The current regulations policy has put a clamp on that was not really there for those previous step changes, so we could be in for a long plateau as they had between hickory and metal woods.